BATON ROUGE — LSU concludes its four-game road swing Tuesday night when the Tigers face No. 21 Tulane at 7 p.m. at Zephyr Field in Metairie, La.
Tickets may be purchased through the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office and TicketMaster. Tickets for the area behind home plate on the first level of Zephyr Field sell for $25, and all other tickets are $20.
Tulane/LSU tickets can be purchased in person at the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office, over the phone at 504-861-WAVE (9283) or on-line at www.TulaneGreenWave.com. The ticket office is located on the first floor of the James W. Wilson, Jr. Center and is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Baseball fans can also purchase tickets through TicketMaster over the phone at 504-522-5555 (New Orleans) or 225-761-8400 (Baton Rouge), on the internet at www.TicketMaster.com, or at any TicketMaster outlet.
The LSU-Tulane game will be broadcast on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network (WDGL-FM 98.1 in Baton Rouge). The audio broadcast is also available in the Geaux Zone at www.LSUsports.net.
LSU won its first SEC series of the season last weekend as the Tigers captured two of three games at No. 25 Alabama.
“We’re certainly looking forward to heading down to the New Orleans area to play Tulane,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said. “The LSU fans in New Orleans are so passionate about the Tigers, and this is a great opportunity to expose our program to them. As we saw the first time we played Tulane, they have an excellent club, so this will be a real challenge in a great atmosphere for college baseball.”
Tulane defeated LSU, 8-3, on February 27 in Baton Rouge.
The Tigers won Game 1 of the Alabama series in dramatic fashion, as shortstop Michael Hollander launched a two-out, three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning to lift LSU to a 5-4 victory. Hollander’s homer came on a 1-2 count against Alabama ace reliever Tommy Hunter.
Hollander led LSU with a .364 (4-for-11) batting average in the series, as he collected four RBI and scored three runs. For the entire week ? including Tuesday’s win over New Orleans ? Hollander hit .429 (6-for-14) with two homers, six RBI and four runs scored.
The series at Alabama featured excellent pitching from the LSU staff, highlighted by the outings of junior right-hander Jared Bradford and sophomore left-hander Ryan Byrd.
Bradford pitched in all three games of the Alabama series and earned two saves. In a combined five innings of work, Bradford allowed two runs on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts. In the Tigers’ Game 1 victory, Bradford pitched a scoreless ninth inning, striking out the final Alabama batter with the tying run at third base and the winning run at second. Bradford worked three scoreless innings in Game 3, allowing just two hits with one strikeout to preserve a 7-3 victory.
Byrd earned two victories last week as a starter versus New Orleans (March 27) and at Alabama (April 1). Byrd defeated UNO by working a career-high seven innings and limiting the Privateers to one earned run on three hits with one walk and a career-best eight strikeouts.
After throwing 103 pitches in the UNO victory on Tuesday, Byrd came back to start Sunday’s game at Alabama.Byrd defeated the Crimson Tide by working 5.1 innings (84 pitches), limiting Alabama to two earned runs on six hits with one walk and two strikeouts. In a combined 12.1 innings, Byrd allowed just three earned runs on nine hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts.
As a staff, the LSU pitchers recorded a 3.12 ERA in the Alabama series while recording 22 strikeouts.
Tulane, batting .293 as a team with 23 homers, is led at the plate by shortstop Cat Everett, who is hitting .354 (40-for-113) with three doubles and 21 RBI. Second baseman Brad Emaus is hitting .330 with four homers and 23 RBI.
The LSU-Tulane series has been nearly even over the past six seasons, with Tulane holding an 8-7 advantage in the last 15 meetings.
Tuesday’s game marks the eighth time the teams have met in Zephyr Field, and the Green Wave holds a 5-2 edge in those contests.
GAME FACTS
LSU Fighting Tigers (17-12-1) at # 21 Tulane Green Wave (22-8)
DATE/TIME
Tuesday, April 3 ? 7 p.m.
STADIUM
Zephyr Field in Metairie, La.
RANKINGS
Tulane is ranked No. 21 by Baseball America, No. 25 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 25 by ESPN/Sports Weekly
TICKETS
Tulane/LSU tickets can be purchased in person at the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office, over the phone at 504-861-WAVE (9283) or on-line at www.TulaneGreenWave.com. Fans can also purchase tickets through TicketMaster over the phone at 504-522-5555 (New Orleans) or 225-761-8400 (Baton Rouge), on the internet at www.TicketMaster.com, or at any TicketMaster outlet.
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates (WDGL-FM 98.1 in Baton Rouge)
INTERNET
Audio broadcast in the Geaux Zone at www.LSUsports.net; live stats at www.LSUsports.net
TV
None
SERIES RECORD
LSU leads, 158-122-3
PITCHING MATCHUPS
LSU ? TBA
TU ? Sr. RHP Matt Goebel (4-1, 3.18 ERA, 28.1 IP, 5 BB, 19 SO)